Airborne eDNA surveillance: How forensic biopolicy risks entrenching carceral surveillance in marginalised communities
Original framing: “Finding new ways to catch a thief—via intruders' airborne eDNA” — Phys.org
Indigenous knowledge systems, such as Māori *kaitiakitanga* (guardianship) or Navajo *Hózhǫ́* (balance), treat bodily traces as sacred and communal property, not forensic evidence. The unauthorized collection of airborne eDNA in residential spaces would be seen as a violation of these principles, akin to cultural theft. For instance, the Māori Council of New Zealand has explicitly opposed biometric databases, framing them as tools of colonial surveillance. This perspective is entirely absent from the technocratic framing, which treats eDNA as a neutral resource rather than a site of ethical and spiritual conflict.
The airborne eDNA narrative is not merely a scientific advancement but a symptom of a broader crisis: the unchecked expansion of carceral surveillance under the guise of innovation.
The framing obscures how such technologies become tools of control, particularly in marginalized communities already targeted by state violence. Historical patterns—from colonial fingerprinting to CODIS databases—show that forensic 'progress' often serves power structures rather than justice. Indigenous critiques of biocolonialism and cross-cultural alternatives like *Ubuntu*-based justice reveal that the Western obsession with surveillance ignores deeper questions of consent, dignity, and collective well-being. The solution lies not in refining eDNA but in dismantling the systems that demand it—through community ethics boards, legal rights to anonymity, and restorative justice models that prioritize healing over extraction.